In order to be eligible to be placed in the CRP, land must be one of the following:

Cropland that is subject to a conservation plan and has been annually planted or considered planted, as defined in § 1410.2, to an agricultural commodity in 4 of the 6 crop years from 2008 through 2013, as determined by the Deputy Administrator, including field margins that are incidental to the planting of crops if:

Including such field margins is determined appropriate by the Deputy Administrator; and

The field margins are physically and legally capable of being planted in a normal manner to an agricultural commodity, as determined by the Deputy Administrator; or

Marginal pasture land, as determined by the Deputy Administrator, that:

Is determined to be suitable for use as a riparian buffer or is made eligible under a Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) agreement for similar water quality purposes as determined by the Deputy Administrator. A field or portion of a field of marginal pasture land may be considered to be suitable for use as a riparian buffer only if, as determined by the Deputy Administrator, it:

Is located adjacent to permanent stream corridors excluding corridors that are considered gullies or sod waterways; and

Is capable, when permanent grass, forbs, shrubs, or trees, are grown, or when planted with appropriate vegetation for the area, including vegetation suitable for wetland restoration or wildlife habitat, as determined appropriate by the Deputy Administrator, of substantially reducing sediment and/or nutrient runoff that otherwise would be delivered to the adjacent stream or waterbody or for water quality purposes; or

[Reserved]

Acreage enrolled in CRP during the final year of the CRP contract, provided the scheduled expiration date of the current CRP contract is before the effective date the new CRP contract, as determined by the CCC; or

Grassland as specified in paragraph (c) of this section.

Land qualifying under paragraphs (a)(1) or (a) (2) of this section must also meet one of the following criteria, to be eligible for a contract:

Be a field or portion of a field determined to be suitable for use, as determined by the CCC, as a permanent wildlife habitat, filter strip, riparian buffer, contour grass strip, grass waterway, field windbreak, shelterbelt, living snowfence, other uses as determined by the CCC, land devoted to vegetation on salinity producing areas, including any applicable recharge area, or any area determined eligible for CRP based on wetland or wellhead protection area criteria. A field or portion of a field may be considered to be suitable for use as a filter strip or riparian buffer only if it, as determined by CCC:

Is located adjacent to a stream, other waterbody of a permanent nature (such as a lake, pond, or sinkhole), or wetland; excluding such areas as gullies or sod waterways; and

Is capable, when permanent grass, forbs, shrubs or trees are grown, of substantially reducing sediment or nutrient runoff that otherwise would be delivered to the adjacent stream or waterbody;

Be non-irrigated or irrigated cropland that would facilitate a net savings in groundwater or surface water of the agricultural operation of the producer, only as determined by, and only when specifically authorized by, the Deputy Administrator;

Be land in a portion of a field not enrolled in CRP, if either:

More than 50 percent of the remainder of the field is enrolled as a buffer or filterstrip practice; or

More than 75 percent of the field is enrolled as a conservation practice other than a buffer or filterstrip; and

With respect to both paragraphs (b)(3)(i) and (ii) of this section, the remainder portion of the field is determined to be infeasible to farm, as defined in § 1410.2, and enrolled at an annual payment rate not to exceed the maximum annual calculated soil rental rate, as determined by the Deputy Administrator;

Be contributing to the degradation of water quality or posing an on-site or off-site environmental threat to water quality if such land remains in production as determined by the Deputy Administrator;

Be devoted to certain covers, as determined by the Deputy Administrator, that are established and maintained according to the FOTG, provided such acreage is not required to be maintained as such under any life-span obligations, as determined by the Deputy Administrator;

Be non-irrigated or irrigated cropland that produces or serves as the recharge area for saline seeps, or acreage that is functionally related to such saline seeps, or where a rising water table contributes to increased levels of salinity at or near the ground surface, as determined by the Deputy Administrator;

Have an EI of greater than or equal to 8 calculated by using the weighted average of the EI's of soil map units within the field;

Be within a public wellhead protection area;

Be within a designated conservation priority area;

Notwithstanding paragraph (a)(1) of this section, be cropland devoted to a perennial crop, as determined by CCC; such cropland will only be eligible for continuous signup practices authorized by § 1410.30 and CREP practices authorized by § 1410.50(b) and; or

Land that meets other continuous signup land eligibility criteria, as established by the Deputy Administrator.

For land to be eligible under a grassland signup as specified in § 1410.30, the land must, as established by the Deputy Administrator:

Not be cropland or marginal pastureland at the time of enrollment as grassland. Land enrolled under an expiring CRP contract may be eligible to be re-enrolled as grassland during the final year of the CRP contract, provided the scheduled expiration date of the current CRP contract is the day before the effective date of the new CRP contract, and suitable grass, legume, forb or shrub covers predominate, and;

Be needed and suitable for enrollment as grassland following a determination that such land:

Contain forbs or shrubland, including improved rangeland and pastureland, for which grazing is the predominant use;

Is located in an area historically dominated by grassland;

Is able to provide habitat for animal and plant populations of significant ecological value if the land is retained in its current use or restored to a natural condition; and

Meets other grassland signup land eligibility criteria as may be established by the Deputy Administrator.

Notwithstanding paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this section, land will be ineligible for enrollment if, as determined by the Deputy Administrator, the land is one of the following:

Federally-owned land, unless the applicant has a lease for the contract period;

Land on which the use of the land is either restricted through deed or other restriction prior to enrollment in CRP prohibiting the production of agricultural commodities, or requires any resource-conserving measures, during any part of the proposed contract term;

Land already enrolled in the CRP, unless authorized by § 1410.6(a)(3), as determined by the Deputy Administrator;

Land for which Tribal, State, or other locals laws, ordinances, or other regulations require any resource conserving or environmental protection measures or practices and the owners or operators of such land have been notified in writing of such requirements; or

Land that is required to be used, or otherwise dedicated to mitigate actions undertaken, or planned to be undertaken, on other land, or to mitigate other actions taken by landowners or operators, as determined by the Deputy Administrator.